Published: Thursday, August 22, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, August 22, 2013 at 12:19 a.m.

A student housing task force on Wednesday formed a committee that will meet with city police officials to learn more about crime in the residential complexes.

The second meeting of Mayor Walt Maddox’s student housing task force also saw the group grow from 16 to 19 members.

Maddox’s executive order forming the task force allowed for the addition of four members at the discretion of the task force chair and members.

On Wednesday, the panel exercised that option by adding a University of Alabama student representative, a UA land planning official and another voice from one of the many neighborhoods devastated by the April 27, 2011, tornado.

Julie Elmore, assistant director of off-campus and Greek housing at the University of Alabama, nominated Madalyn Vaughn to represent the UA student community, saying that she believes Vaughn will be able to speak for a broad number of students.

Philip Pitts of Glendale Gardens was nominated as a new member of the task force by Robert Parsons, a current member. Parsons, a Forest Lake resident, said he thought it was appropriate to have more than one representative from a neighborhood that was destroyed by the tornado and is now a potential target for future student housing developers.

And Dan Wolfe of UA’s planning department was recommended by Grayson Glaze, the executive director of the Alabama Center of Real Estate, which is housed on UA’s campus.

Wolfe, Glaze said, is in charge of the comprehensive master plan for the campus and is aware of the current and future student housing needs.

“He would be an incredible resource,” Glaze said.

The fourth and final slot for the task force remains open and could be filled at a later date. While the owner of a local rental property company was nominated, he failed to garner enough votes to be added to the panel.

The task force discussed several topics during its second two-hour session, including an attempt at defining what student housing is, as well as the boundaries of an ideal student housing complex zone, called “the box” by the panel, near the UA campus.

No consensus was reached on either topic and the task force members agreed to discuss again at a future meeting, although it was generally agreed that the cause of the most concern was the number of large, rent-by-the-bedroom complexes designed strictly for college students that have been constructed in recent years in Tuscaloosa.

“I think we should focus on what we want to encourage and what we want to discourage,” said task force member Robert Reynolds, who is representing the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. “That’s what zoning is all about.”

The group took action only once more when it appointed Jay Evans, the president of College Station Properties; Chase Adcox, the task force’s representative from the Historic Preservation Commission; Tim Harrison, president of Harrison Construction; along with Parsons and Elmore to meet with Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steve Anderson.

The purpose of the meeting is to gather information on which kinds of crimes and nuisances the Police Department typically deals with from private student housing apartment complexes. The committee will report back its findings to the full task force at a later date.

For the task force’s next meeting, set for Sept. 4, the group plans to hear from local and out-of-town developers on why they consider Tuscaloosa a ripe market for large student housing developments, such as The Grove at Tuscaloosa, the new $30 million, 628-bed student housing complex that gained unanimous approval from the Tuscaloosa City Council on Tuesday.

<p>A student housing task force on Wednesday formed a committee that will meet with city police officials to learn more about crime in the residential complexes.</p><p>The second meeting of Mayor Walt Maddox's student housing task force also saw the group grow from 16 to 19 members.</p><p>Maddox's executive order forming the task force allowed for the addition of four members at the discretion of the task force chair and members.</p><p>On Wednesday, the panel exercised that option by adding a University of Alabama student representative, a UA land planning official and another voice from one of the many neighborhoods devastated by the April 27, 2011, tornado.</p><p>Julie Elmore, assistant director of off-campus and Greek housing at the University of Alabama, nominated Madalyn Vaughn to represent the UA student community, saying that she believes Vaughn will be able to speak for a broad number of students.</p><p>Philip Pitts of Glendale Gardens was nominated as a new member of the task force by Robert Parsons, a current member. Parsons, a Forest Lake resident, said he thought it was appropriate to have more than one representative from a neighborhood that was destroyed by the tornado and is now a potential target for future student housing developers.</p><p>And Dan Wolfe of UA's planning department was recommended by Grayson Glaze, the executive director of the Alabama Center of Real Estate, which is housed on UA's campus.</p><p>Wolfe, Glaze said, is in charge of the comprehensive master plan for the campus and is aware of the current and future student housing needs.</p><p>“He would be an incredible resource,” Glaze said.</p><p>The fourth and final slot for the task force remains open and could be filled at a later date. While the owner of a local rental property company was nominated, he failed to garner enough votes to be added to the panel.</p><p>The task force discussed several topics during its second two-hour session, including an attempt at defining what student housing is, as well as the boundaries of an ideal student housing complex zone, called “the box” by the panel, near the UA campus.</p><p>No consensus was reached on either topic and the task force members agreed to discuss again at a future meeting, although it was generally agreed that the cause of the most concern was the number of large, rent-by-the-bedroom complexes designed strictly for college students that have been constructed in recent years in Tuscaloosa.</p><p>“I think we should focus on what we want to encourage and what we want to discourage,” said task force member Robert Reynolds, who is representing the city's Planning and Zoning Commission. “That's what zoning is all about.”</p><p>The group took action only once more when it appointed Jay Evans, the president of College Station Properties; Chase Adcox, the task force's representative from the Historic Preservation Commission; Tim Harrison, president of Harrison Construction; along with Parsons and Elmore to meet with Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steve Anderson.</p><p>The purpose of the meeting is to gather information on which kinds of crimes and nuisances the Police Department typically deals with from private student housing apartment complexes. The committee will report back its findings to the full task force at a later date.</p><p>For the task force's next meeting, set for Sept. 4, the group plans to hear from local and out-of-town developers on why they consider Tuscaloosa a ripe market for large student housing developments, such as The Grove at Tuscaloosa, the new $30 million, 628-bed student housing complex that gained unanimous approval from the Tuscaloosa City Council on Tuesday.</p><p>Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0200.</p>